Sunny Leone is the latest actress to join the bandwagon of Bollywood horror films. She had big boots to fill in her first horror outing – she was the female lead of Jism 2, the sequel to Jism, which starred Bipasha Basu and Dino Morea.

Sunny Leone had it all. The requisite oomph factor, the acting skills and the will to experiment with her character and sign up challenging roles. But it wasn’t Jism 2 that set her up for trysts with horror. It was her suddenly something role in Ragini MMS 2 that made her a household name and makes us add her to this list.

Sunny Leone has proven that she’s not stopping at only horror films. She acted in an interesting re-incarnation film too, Ek Paheli Leela in 2015.

Bipasha Basu was a welcome respite from the rut that Bollywood horror films had fallen in between the late 90s and the early 2000s. Her performance in Jism actually raised the bar of female performances all over Bollywood, not just in Bollywood horror films.

Bipasha Basu changed several aspects in Bollywood. She was the first mainstream actress who wasn’t projected as a ‘fair looking woman’, thanks to the Bhatt Camp. Before Jism, Bollywood horror was going down the drain – with some directors adding a lot of sleaze, putting off even hardcore horror fans. But the Bhatt Camp and Bipasha successful brought back aesthetic and sensuality to Bollywood horror – for that, she’s at the top of this list.

When Bipasha signed up for Jism, it also did away with the idea that ‘they can sign up any female in a Bollywood horror film’. Coming to think about it, Bollywood horror fans have much to thank the Bhatt camp and Bipasha Basu to for their Jism franchise.

Tabu has acted in one horror film, but the reason she’s in this list is the bold storyline – a mother who’s sexually assaulted by a spirit. That film was Guddu Dhanoa’s Hawa. Yes, the film might be inspired by The Entity. The very idea that someone came up with this script for Indian audiences, and Tabu decided to do this would be ridiculous and hilarious – if it wasn’t true. Tabu is Bollywood Royalty, niece of the Shabana Azmi, and the darling of the indie film circuit.

Be that as it may, the fact that Tabu signed up for a Bollywood horror film definitely worked toward removing the cliche of ‘good girls don’t do horror’ in the Bollywood film circuit.

Tabu’s ‘Hawa’ did not do well at the box office, but newer audiences are understanding it’s cult status.

Another Bollywood royalty that acted in not one but two horror films. The second film was in fact, her comeback film. Karism Kapoor made inroads into the horror circuit with Paapi Gudia. She also did some reincarnation film with Govinda. Paapi Gudia was a straight rip-off of Child’s Play and starred Shakti Kapoor as the evil magician. This was a 90s film that Lawrence D’Souza directed. Karisma’s next foray into Bollywood horror was Dangerous Isshq 3D, that was made under the Bhatt banner.

Sahila Chadha was part of what’s considered as a cult Bollywood horror film – Veerana. The film propelled Bollywood horror out of all the cliches and controversies it was pitted in. Film historians say that Veerana was the first legit all out Horror Bollywood film that saw success at the box office.

Aarti Gupta has been part of three of the super famous, cult Bollywood horror films. These are the films that genuinely form the very core and canon of Bollywood Horror films. She played the main female lead in Purana Mandir, where her co-star was Mohnish Behl. She also was the main female lead in Saamri 3D and Tahkhana, where her co-star was Hemant Birje.

The iconic ‘pan out scream scene’ was shot many a times in all the three films on Aarti. Just for that, she becomes the face of Bollywood horror. Aarti added the necessary oomph factor and with an 80s aesthetic that’s unmatched even today. Aarti also became one of the few actresses to sport a bikini with her films.

We can tell you, Tina Ghai has not got her due when it comes to Bollywood horror. People know the name that we put up above, but very few will remember her.

Tina Ghai has acted in at least 5 famous Bollywood horror films. She usually played the second lead in these films. So. she’s been in films like Veerana, Sau Saal Baad, Purani Haveli, Khooni Murda, Kafan, Bhanayak Panjaa and Bhayanak.

Preeti Sapru is a second generation Bollywood actress. Her father, Sapru, was a well known character actor. He was patent in films from the 60s till the 90s. She and her brother, Tej Sapru took over the acting mantle. Tej Sapru is well known for his negative character roles. Preeti Sapru is known for her second female lead roles. She was in Purana Mandir and Purani Haveli.

#10 Sapna (too many to count)

If this was a Bollywood credits, we’d have started this part of the listing with ‘above all, Sapna’. Sapna is best known for her work with director Kanti Shah, who made several zero budget Bollywood horror films in the 90s. He is still going strong, but makes fewer horror films.

Sapna’s been the lead or second lead in a clump of films like Virana, Maut ka Badla, Bhoot ka Dar, Dracula, Murdaa, etc. Frankly, Sapna could have acted in more Bollywood horror films than this entire list put together. Unfortunately, when she was at her peak, records about how much money a film made were never quite out there.

Sapna has also performed some of the boldest scenes in Bollywood film history. She legit hits the competitors out of the park. Therefore, she makes this list.